Feedback for Strava's new maps (OpenStreetMap)

Strava is actively working with Mapbox (the open source mapping platform that supplies us with OpenStreetMap) to make sure we offer the best mapping experience for our athletes.

Mapbox gives us the opportunity to create customized maps that fit aesthetically and functionally with Strava. With open source data, errors or missing map assets can be fixed quickly and efficiently, creating the most detailed and robust maps for cycling and running. We believe in the potential and power of maps by OSM and we're focused on giving the Strava community the best experience possible.

Where did Street View go?

Mapbox does not provide Street View functionality at this time. We realize this functionality was valuable for some athletes; we'll do our best to re-incorporate it when possible.

August 14th, 2015:

We’re 100% committed to making Strava better for our athletes, and we hear you loud and clear regarding this switch from Google Maps to OSM. We didn’t anticipate how strongly some of our athletes would react to the change and apologize that it was a sudden disappointment to some of you. We could have done a better job explaining our reasoning and bracing you for the switch, handling the roll-out, taking more time to work with Mapbox, etc.

It may not seem like it now, but we believe deeply that changing to OSM is the best choice we can make for our athletes and our company. There is enormous potential and creative flexibility offered by the new maps and we ask that you stick with us and continue providing feedback as we bring that potential to fruition.

Your reports on the quality of the maps, such as missing map data and satellite image quality, can be addressed. We are working closely Mapbox, our OSM map provider, on both satellite imagery and road data and we’re invested in improving your experience. By providing specific examples of satellite and road data, we can act quickly to update the map data.

We've noted all your comments regarding street view, and understand how important it is to you. The top use for street view seems to center around segments, in viewing segment start and end coordinates as well as viewing the road surface and surroundings. Street view is still available when creating segments, and it may be possible to return street view to other areas of the segment experience. We will have more to share on this soon.

Our designers are compiling initial thoughts on how Strava can leverage certain styles, colors and shading to customize the map experience. We are already incorporating the existing feedback we’ve received here. Please continue to send us your feedback on how the look and feel of the maps can be improved.

- The Strava Team

August 21st, 2015:

When you visit a segment page, you can now click either endpoint of the segment to be brought to the street view for that location. Or, you can select one of the options from the map view menu (pictured below).

This addition is not meant to fully resolve your concerns about the switch to Mapbox. We're doing the best we can to respond to your feedback quickly while still maintaining our commitment to elevate your map experience with Mapbox. It's going to take time and we ask that you stick with us, and we'll continue to take your feedback to heart and iterate whenever possible.

September 2nd, 2015

We've just updated our maps to support four languages: English, French, German and Spanish. Now, if you're traveling or viewing the map in another country, you'll be able to see map labels and place names in your language.

How it works: If you have Strava set to one of the above four languages, you will see map labels in that language. For any other language that is not supported at this time, you will see the default map which displays regional language. To change your language preferences, use the menu at the bottom of any Strava page.

This map update also refreshes imagery for the Satellite map in select areas.

October 22nd, 2015

We're excited to announce updated maps in collaboration with Mapbox, featuring an intuitive display of map data and activity-specific styling. Designed especially with runners and cyclists in mind, we focused on a visual experience that would relay the map information we believe most helpful to our athletes:

Offset road labels for better visibility along activities

Visually distinct running and cycling paths

Highlighted pedestrian areas, outdoor areas, and parks

Vivid terrain styling and high-contrast mountain areas

Lower map label density for urban areas

Major highways and high-traffic roads de-prioritized in grey

Added points of interest most relevant to activity on Strava

Contour lines and elevation labels on satellite view

This is the first of several map projects we are working on as part of our ongoing goal to make your mapping experience on Strava more accurate, informative and rich.

Well, I've cancelled premium already and hold out no hopes of getting Google maps back. A friend did an interesting route today and I really missed being able to zoom in and use streetview to look at the route. It's actually annoying me so much now, I'm not even sure I want to stick with the free version.

Before the switch there was a small number of Strava users asking for OSM. Using it and comparing side-by-side to Google I can see some areas where it might be a good choice, especially for trails, but it isn't quite there in terms of Google's resources (Street View, purchasing ability to acquire commercial mapping for use in their products to include satellite imagery, etc.)

I can also understand why Strava would want to pursue OSM. For those who don't understand the business side of map products, when you design a mobile or desktop application or web page that uses Google map tiles they have different tiers and charge for maps served, starting off with free and going up in price. The same thing with the Mapbox service but due to basing their map tiles on open source mapping they're likely much cheaper with the volume that Strava is using.

With that in mind I'd throw my vote to something already mentioned. If it's about cost and profit margin and Strava can't afford to offer Google to everyone, use OSM for free accounts and give Premium users the ability to switch between mapping providers.

very very poor mapping experience of my latest Yosemite Half Dome hike..... Totally disappointed with this change.. I will be switching to another product if strava decides to stick to OSM in its current form. At this point google maps is far far superior than OSM...Bad decision strava...

Very disappointed that Streetview is now not available. I like to see routes friends/clubmates have taken and use streetmap to help navigate. It is also very useful in terms of terrain and road surface.

It is also helpful to know exactly where segments start and stop.

I do hope that Streetview is added soon - it really was a big part of how I used and explored Strava.

Strava I think you can see that the overwhelming sentiment here is that OSM is simply not a credible replacement for Google Maps & Streetview. No update from you in days, and I still haven't had a response about my pro-rata refund for my Premium.

One of the best features of Strava for me was the ability to zoom into the map and see where trails started and finished. I'm starting to ride a lot more natural trails now so often there's nothing to indicate there is a trail there apart from a gap in the trees. Strava mapping used to let me zoom in and see in detail where these are.

Now all I get is a pixelated blur and it's next to useless. like others, I've also stopped my monthly Premium payments and will stay with the free version until this issue is sorted out.

What is the best similar site to try? Everything I do is on Garmin Connect anyway which syncs to Strava anyway, but will give something else a spin to see how it stacks up until Strava either fixes itself or goes bankrupt.

Please remember to send us your feedback for satellite image quality and missing street data. These corrections can be implemented quickly to improve the map experience for you. Drop a pin on the map where you see the problem and add a comment. Since OSM is open source, new streets and trails can be added and higher resolution satellite imagery can be acquired. Mapbox is a great mapping partner for us, and we're equally committed to serving you great maps.

"Mapbox is a great mapping partner for us, and we're equally committed to serving you great maps." Is anyone else convinced this Elle Anderson is not in fact a human being, but an artificial bot created to destroy our user experience on Strava?

"These corrections can be implemented quickly to improve the map experience for you. Drop a pin on the map where you see the problem and add a comment. Since OSM is open source, new streets and trails can be added and higher resolution satellite imagery can be acquired."

Ok, the satellite maps for the whole norway and sweden have bad resolutions. Where should I locate the pin?

That's the problem with what you suggestion. The satellite data are bad over huge areas so it is kind of meaningless for everyone to ask for updated maps for their own areas. It is similar with open streetmap, it is just not possibly for strava to fix the maps all over the world were the OSM maps are bad (and it is also kind of impossibly to make good contributions to OSM without having knowledge about the area and I doubt that strava have people everywhere). To just say that everyone that finds a missing trail or road in their neighborhood should send a message to strava is just ridiculous. That method would cost strava much more than google maps do due to the huge amount of work that is needed.

Users can rarely be counted on for creating safe, clean segments and self reporting their own car-gps rides. How on Earth are we going to get user generated accurate roads/trails/routes that will allow anyone to plan a trip in their own backyard let alone any type of destination ride.

I created a group/club with the intention of directing more traffic to this feedback forum. Please join, invite your friends to join, and invite anyone else who cares about Strava being the best it can be.

I don't think Google maps lacks "enormous potential and creative flexibility" and that's not why it was replaced. Only one explanation makes sense to me, which is money --- fair enough, it may be untenable to pay Google's fees. But two things to remember:

- you are collecting money from premium users and I feel like their subscription probably dwarfs the cost of their consumption of google maps data.

- There's a very good chance Strava never would have gotten off the ground in the first place without Google maps. So to build a community on the back of this tool and then remove it once you've reached a critical mass is somewhat disingenuous to your users.

I will not renew my premium membership. I feel that comments like "It may not seem like it now, but we believe deeply that changing to OSM is the best choice we can make for our athletes and our company." I've seen time and time again on this site, and although Strava is head and shoulders above other places to log your biking and hiking/running/whatever activities, I don't believe (in MY eyes) that Strava REALLY listens to and reacts to the customer feedback. I vote for going back to Google, as do most on this thread. They're 'listening'? Hmmmm.

Also, I thought when you instituted the ability to add pictures to a ride (instead of having to go to Instagram which was a pain) that we would be able to add text/annotations. Hasn't happened. Will it? Heck, I've been a programmer for 40 years, and I KNOW it's not that difficult. I've seen lots of threads/comments on this, with 0 results. Also, REALLY, you can't add pictures from your PC, only the phone app? Come on. Hence, I'm not paying for Strava unless that's the only option. Once they start doing what the users appear to want, I'll start paying again.

I am very disappointed in Strava's response and lack of understanding. At the risk of sounding too entitled I do feel like I paid for a Premium subscription so i would get the features and functionality that I saw when I signed up. Also, I paid because I wanted high quality mapping, I did not want to become part of the Open Source Map community. To answer legitimate complaints by saying "Please remember to send us your feedback for satellite image quality and missing street data." is abrogating Strava's responsibility to provide a premium product and puts the effort back on us, the paying customer. If Strava were an open source community effort I would be very proud of where it is today, as a commercial product competing for premium subscription dollars i am extremely unhappy and will look for a better offering.

Make Google Maps an option if you want to keep OSM (I do see that it might be better in some respects for off road). If the cost is the issue than be honest and make a proposal about a fee increase but please don't tell us that this is better or that it is up to us to provide data and corrections in order to try to make it as good as Google.

To quote Elle, "Mapbox is a great mapping partner for us, and we're equally committed to serving you great maps."

I'm sure they're a great "partner" just like I'm one of Strava's "partners". I think what you meant to say was you're a customer of their service just like I'm a customer of your service. I don't know your business model, don't know your hosting, bandwidth, developer and support expenses, and I don't know what your cost to buy services from Google are but please don't try to play this down as being implemented as some improvement to Strava. The OSM maps are at best okay and often worse. For off-road trails I wouldn't mind seeing an option for OSM-sourced maps but they can't compete with what Google. And if it wasn't severely eating into profit to offer Google maps there's no other reason to not still offer that service.

You got my curiosity up on what the mapping services charge so I took a look at the respective sites. For the "Google Maps API" which is tiered and starts at free and goes up depending on use, the highest tiers are charged $0.50 (UDS) per 1,000 map loads. Mapbox charges $499 a month for up to 1,000,000 map loads. So if Strava was consuming only that million map loads it would cost $500 to get them from Google. Now there does appear to be differences, as Google counts a map load as a single request for a static map or a Street View display and if a user interacts (moves) a map there are no additional charges while Mapbox counts a view as loading 15 tiles, so they're likely billed differently.

I'm betting Strava goes well above a million loads which would require a customized pricing plan from both services and in the case of Google a "Google Maps API for Work" license since you offer a pay site/app with the Premium membership. Maybe Mapbox cut a great deal or maybe Google's commercial licensing costs are really high once a developer needs a product to include in a pay site/app. As a consumer I don't care. If you can't offer Google maps to everyone with your current model and don't want to charge all users a membership fee it seems your community will look elsewhere.

I don't mind my Premium membership if the service and product is great but your company has me seriously thinking about cancelling/returning the Garmin 520/membership renewal combo I just bought through your store. The mapping is just icing on the cake at this point. You never seem to fix known problems. Good features are removed and useless new "features" are added to app and site redesigns. Simple feature request for filtering leaderboard by bike types, ability to upload pictures to the web page, private messaging system, etc. never go anywhere after multiple years. And now removing a superior mapping product to save a buck. I guess it is time to explore some of the other options and spend my membership dollars elsewhere.

I was looking at a segment today in my area and wanted to see if there were any landmarks that might help indicate the end of the segment, as I have been ending my efforts too early. Usually I'd just StreetView it but because that isn't an option anymore, I tried viewing the segment using satellite view, with appalling results. I'd like someone from Strava to explain to me how this is better?

I can't see anything with Mapbox/OSM satellite images. I can barely zoom in to view an entire small town, never mind see the details of individual streets. Unfortunately, I renewed back in June for a year but will absolutely be going back to a free account if Google maps (and some other issues) aren't resolved when my subscription is due for renewal. I really loved Strava but over the past year or so I've found that the company has started ignoring its paying customers' requests and is very slow to fix bugs and/or implement useful new features.

This is sounding a lot like the Apple Maps business model from a couple of years ago. "We'll give you better maps and you'll love it - really, you will!". Almost makes you wonder if Apple is getting ready to make a fitness-related acquisition. :-)

@Steven F. "Considering the large user base of Strava, I'm a bit worried that a poorly done switch will give OSM a bad rap because people will confound OSM and Mapbox."

True, there are a lot of complaints regarding satellite images and street view - that doesn't have to do anything with Openstreetmap, OSM is only a database that provides the map data, Mapbox uses this data and renders the map in some way or combines it with satellite images.For example I have taken a look at an area posted by Joel Dudgeon, who was talking about "*HORRIBLE* OSM coverage" - well, actually the OSM coverage doesn't seem to be that bad. There are other areas that are much better mapped in OSM and still there are more details, than on Google/Bing/Here:http://i.imgur.com/ne2oAjk.png?1http://i.imgur.com/pRwrlj5.png?1